Balloon Artist Geronimo Collaborates with New York City Ballet

It’s that time of year again: the New York City Ballet’s Art Series! We at Art Zealous have come to look forward to this annual collaboration between dance and the visual arts and we are never disappointed. As usual, the series brings with it commissioned installations, special performances and exclusive events.

This year, New York City Ballet (NYCB) pairs with balloon artist Jihan Zencirli, known as Geronimo. The artist will use more than 200,000 balloons to give the iconic architecture of Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater a makeover during its 2018 winter season. Her large-scale installations have been specifically designed for the Center’s façade and interior promenade. The eco-friendly balloons have been handmade by artisans in Japan and America. According to a press release about the collaboration, “the installations are meant to reflect the passage of time as they change in accordance with the elements.”

Free viewing hours for the general public will take place on February 17-25 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-noon and Sun 10am-1pm), but we’re in it for the experience and the party as well! Lucky for us, three special performances during the Ballet’s winter season – January 26, February 2 and February 24 – will be followed by a special Art Series party. Audience members at these performances will also receive a limited-edition takeaway created by Zencerli.

NYCB’s Art Series aims to engage new audiences and cross-pollinate its fans with those of contemporary visual artists. In fact, the series has already successfully increased the Ballet’s under-35-years-old demographic. This continues a long history of NYCB’s collaborating with the visual arts industry. Through the years, it has commissioned works from the likes of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and more.

Previous Art Series collaborations include FAILE (2013), JR (2014), Dustin Yellin (2015), Marcel Dzama (2016) and Santtu Mustonen (2017). Zencerli has created installations for the Broad Museum and clients such as Amazon and Square Space. She is based in Los Angeles and New York. For more, visit nycballet.com/artseries.